Comparators are often used, for example, in voltage monitoring applications and in analog-to-digital converter (ADC) applications. In general, the design of the comparator and its performance often greatly influences the overall system performance for a given application.
A conventional comparator design may have a number of limitations for a given application, such as for example for high-speed, multi-channel design requirements. As an example, the conventional comparator may fail to accurately compare signal levels near a ground reference voltage (e.g., due to a ground reference offset or other type of offset error). As another example, the conventional comparator may have unacceptable levels of crosstalk between channels, may be too slow to adequately support the desired number of channels, and/or may consume too much die area for a desired application. As a result, there is a need for improved comparator techniques.